Method of treating oil-bearing shale



Jan. 9, 1923.

H. R. STRAIGHT. METHOD OF TREATING OIL BEARING SHALE.

FILED JULY 31, 1918.

Fatented allan. 9,

STATES/1 v I 1,441,542 PATENT OFFICE.

HALVER R. STRAIGHT, OF ADEL, IOWA.

.METHOD OF TREATING OIL-BEARING SHALE.

Application filed July 31,

To allwkomv it may comem:

Be it known that I, HALVER RUFUS STRAIGHT, acitizen of the-United States, and a resident of Adel, .in the county of Dallas and State of Iowa, have invented a certain new and useful Method'of Treating Oil-Bearing Shale, of which the following is a specificatlon. 4

The objects of my invention are to pro subjected to increasing degrees'of tempera ture, whereby the more volatile vapors are first removed and the heavier vapors later removed, and whereby when the vapors are thus removed from the shale they arekept separate and not again commingled, to thereby economize in the final treatment, cleaning and purification of the ingredients.

Still a further object is to provide an improved method of treating oil-bearing shale,

whereby the more volatile ingredients, such, for instance, as gasoline, kerosene and light lubricating oils, may first be removed without subjecting them to such temperatures as would tend to injure the cast metal ,containers for the shale, so' that if desired the less volatile ingredients, such, for instance, as heavy fuel oils, paraflin and nitrogen, may be separately subjected to such high degrees of temperatures as may be necessary t0. vaporize them, in a separate fire-brick container for the shale.

Still a further object is to provide animproved method of preventing the incoming supply of fresh shale'from injuring the cast iron shale containers in the vaporizing chamber by reason of subjecting them to exces sively low degrees of temperature on account of the said incoming supply of shale.

Still a further. object is to provide an improved method of treating the supply of shale within the vaporizing chamber, Whereby all of'the shale is rapidly sub ected to high temperatures and is preventedfrom fluxing, and whereby the vapor is readily removed from the mass of-heated shale.

Still a further object is to provide an im,-'

proved method of removing the less volatile vapors and gases from the shale, by. first sub- 1918. Serial No. 247,694;

ijecting them to relatively high temperatures, and then confining them in a suitable container and supplying oxygen or air to the heated mass for utilizing the remaining combustible ingredients of the shale for the'purpose offsup'plying additional heat to liberate the less volatile ingredients.

My invention consists in the arrangement and combination of the various steps of the process, whereby the objects contemplated are attained, as hereinafter more setforth andpointed out in my claims.

For thepurpose-of assisting in an'under-l standing of my improved method, I have shown in the accompanying illustration, an apparatus by which the method may be carried out, and I shall first briefly describe the .apparatus.

I The reference numeral 10 indicates a sub-j stantially horizontally arranged heating chamber, in which the hea't'i's supplied by gas or in any suitable way. Above it is a horizontally arranged vapor chamber 11.

The heating chamber and the vapor chamber are separated by a' shale-carry-in conveyer 12, the shale containers of-whic may be made of cast iron, and are made to fit tightenough together to form a. substantiall flame-tight partition between the combustion chamber and the vaporchamber.

This conveyor is continually advanced at a slow rate of speed during the operation of the apparatus. I

At one end is a hopper 13, through which the shale is fed continuously to the conveyer.

vAt intervals throughout the length of-the vapor chamber are the transverse partitions 14'and 15, to separate the vapor chamber into compartments. YCommnmcating with each compartment is a vapor 'pipe' 16 leading to a condensation coil 17 which discharges into a suitable container 18. In the event that any-fixed gases are discharged into the containers 18, I have provided a pipe 19. communicating with each container and running to a point of discharge, for the 'purpose of carrying off such fixed gases.

To assist in the liberation of vapors from the body of shale on the conveyer, l[ have provided a steam pipe 20 having downwardly and then forwardly extended branches to project under the layer of shale on the conveyor and to discharge steam into the -layer of shale near the bottom of the layer.

To further assist in the liberation of the raise its temperature so that it will not chill the cast iron conveyer members, I have provided a fan 22 communicating at one end with the combustionchamber and discharging at its other end into the interior of the hopper 13. It is controlled by a damper 23,

so that the desired amount ofheat may be furnished at alltimes.

As will be hereinafter explained, the more volatile ingredients are removed from the shale inthe part of the apparatus just described, "but it is not desirable to subject the cast iron container to 'sufficiently high temperatures to remove all of the valuable ingredients, as it would tend to retard the treatment of the shale and reduce the capacity of the apparatus.

In'cases where the quality of the shale and the selling price of the less volatile ingredients make it desirable to do so, I have provided a separate apparatus in which the temperatures may be sufiiciently, conveniently and economically raised to such a degree as to remove such ingredients, for instance, as heavy fuel oils, paifaflin and nitrogen.' i

This apparatus comprises a rotary cylindrical body portion 24, preferably provided with fire-clay lining. This body portion is v supported in an inclined position upon the.

rollers 25 and 26, and is rotated by means of the roller 27 driven by the pulley 28.

At the upper end of the cylindrical container is a receiving spout .29, into which the contents ofth'e conveyer 12 are discharged in their heated condition. Within the central portionof this rotary shale container is a cone-shaped heating device 30, projecting a considerable distance into the container from the bottom thereof, and which is perforated, and into which the combined gas, air and steam nozzle 31 is'projected. This nozzle communicates with a steam supply pipe 32 and a gas supply pipe 33, and a valve 34 is provided, by means of which air may also be introduced.

The bottom of the cylindrical chamber 24 is perforated so that the spent shale may be discharged therefrom throughthe discharge pipe 35. I l I he valuable vapors and gases arising from the heatedmaterial are carried away through a. vapor pipe 36 which extends through the openings at the upper end'of the cylindrical chamber fl t. e

In carrying-out y improved method by the use of the apparatus just described, I

supply heat to the combustion chamber 10 until the'desired amount reached, and I then' continuouslyadvance the conveyer, and as the conveyer is advanced. each compartment thereof is filled with shale from the hopper, which delivers it to the conveyer in athin, wide layer of unifornr' thickness. The shale is preferably reduced to small particles before being placed in the'hopper. In order that the shale may not be so cold, when it enters the conveyer, as to injure the material of which the conveyer is formed, I preferably pre-heat the shale by forcing heat into it from the combustion chamber, so that it is raised to a temperature of two or three hundreddegrees Fahrenheit before being delivered to the. conveyer;

partment of the-vaporizing chamber, its

'Asthe shale passes-through the first comtemperature'willbe greatly raised until the more volatile vapors are liberated therefrom,

and these more volatile vapors" are all liber- .ated from the shale before it'passes under .the first partition '14:.

In order to assist in the'vaporization, I inject steam *into the mass of moving shale, and also agitate it, so that the vapors, as soonas liberated, can easily and rapidly pass through the thin layer of shale on the conveyer. In this first compartment of the vapor chamber, oneofthe more volatile vapors which is liberated is gasoline.

By my improved method the gasoline and the other more volatile vapors that are liberated in the first compartment of the vapor chamber, are kept-separated and condensed in a separate chamber, and are never thereafter commingled with the other ingredients; The gasoline thus liberated and separated from theqless volatile ingredients, .may be readily and easily and. inexpensively purified and separated from the other highly volatile ingredients that -were liberated with it;

When the thin the first partition 14, it becomes heated-to a higher degree, and while passing through the second compartment of the vapor chamand placed in aseparate container, and may be purified and separated from the other ingredients easily and inexpensively;

In the last compartment of the vapor chamber the shale is subjected to still greater temperatures, and also treated with steam, and stirred, so that other ingredients which require higher temperatures for their va-.

porization, are thereby liberated, and re-' layer of shale has passed manage moved, condensed-and'placed in a separate. compartment, such, 1 for instance, as the lighter lubricating oils.

In order to remove such ingredients from oil-bearing shale, for instance, as the heavier and make it impractical to treat the shale in an apparatus .of the kind illustrated and described.

After removing the more volatile ingredients, such, for instance, as the ones mentioned, there remain other valuable ingredients in the shale, which, however, must be subjected to relatively high temperatures before they are separated. Furthermore, when the shale has been subjected to such temperatures as will liberate the heavier oils,

the mass of shale has been heated to such an extent that it of itself becomes combustible when mixed with a suflicient quantity of" cient quantities to permit the combustible.

' of the shale to be partly consumed. By

regulating) the amount of air, th'e tempera ture'can e regulated with; great accuracy.

It is to be understood in thisconnection' the center of the mass of heated shale, and

this gas can readily and inexpensively be obtained by. piping it from the various con- 'tainers into which the more volatile ingredients have been discharged, for the reason mthat during the distillation ofv the more volatile ingredients there are vcertain fixed gases which are also liberated and dis-' charged into said containers; and these fixed gases may be thus economically utilized. They are also utilized to as great an extent as may be possible, in supplying heat to the combustion chamber of the first part of the apparatus.

I also provide for injecting steam into the mass of heated shale in the rotary container, for the purpose of assisting in the liberation of the vapor.

The vapors which contain the gasoline,

all liberated from the shale before the vapors which contain sulphur. It is difiicult and expensive to remove sulphur from gasoline, kerosene, light lubricating oils and the like. In the methods employed heretofore, where all of the vapors are commingled after they have been liberated from the shale, it is necessary to perform .the difficult and expensive operation of later removing certain ingredients, such, for instance, as sulphur, from the oil.

By means of my improved process, how ever the sulphur and similar ingredients are never commingled with the lighter vapors, and hence no later act of separation or purification need be performed, thus effecting a material economy in the operation of the device. I

By the use of the term shale in this application I refer to any material containing volatile hydro-carbon of any nature.

I believe my method of treating oil bearingshale may be put to a great variety of uses, and inight, for instance, be-u sed in treating coal where coke is one of the byproducts.

I claim as my invention:

' 1. The method of treatingioil bearingand central portion of the mass of heated shale, "then agitating the material about the point which the oxygen is supplied by rotating the same, for utilizing the-combustible properties of the shale to further raise the temperatures to a high degree, and to prevent the mass .of material from fusing together while the less volatile ingredients are being liberated.

-2. The method of treating oil bearing shale which consists in first heating the shale to such temperatures as will remove the more. volatile ingredients, then depositing them in a closed container, and then supplying oxygen and combustible fuels inaneasured quantities to the interior and central portion ofthemass of heated shale, then agitating the'm-a-terial aboutthe point which .the oxygen is supplied by rotating the same,

for utilizing the combustible properties of the shale to further raise-the temperatures to a high degree, and toprevent the mass of material from fusing together while the less volatile ingredients are being liberated.

'3. The method of treating oil bearing shales which consists in continuously depositing the shale in-a closed container, then supplying combustible fuels and oxygen in measured quantities to the exterior, and central portion of the massof shale within the container for heating the shale and utilizing v theless volatile ingredients, and agitating the combustible properties of the sam'e,' and further raising the temperatures to liberate the material about the 'point in which the fuel is injected by rotating the mass of shale about the said point offuel injection as a center.

4;"The 'method oftreating O l i shale which consists in continuouslyde positing the shale in a closed container, then supplying combustible fuelsfand oxygen in measured quantities to the exterior-and cen'--. tral portion of the mass of shale within the container for heating the shale and utilizing the combustible properties of the same, and further raising thetemperaturesto liberate the less volatile ingredients, and agitating the material about the point in which the fuelis injected by rotatingthe mass of shale is injected and continuously withdrawn from the containerat said point.

Des Moines, Iowa, Jul 13, 1918; I

l-IALVER STRAIGHT. 

